1000 Waterford Green Office Project Set To Break Ground

By Marilyn Bowden Waterford at Blue Lagoon’s first green office building is scheduled to break ground tomorrow (10/26).

The 10-story, 260,000-square-foot 1000 Waterford is a joint development of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, College Retirement Equities Fund — known as TIAA-CREF — and The Hogan Group.

The partnership has been developing the 250-acre corporate park for more than a decade, with The Hogan Group acting as development manager for the owner, said Mike Hogan, Hogan Group’s CEO.

"This is the first that will be LEED certified," he said. LEED, an acronym for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a national rating system for green buildings. "What we’re seeing in corporate American now is a much greater requirement for that kind of construction, and we as well as other developers are going in that direction."

Occupancy in the 1.1 million square feet of class A space Hogan manages at the park is at 94%, Mr. Hogan said, "so we are anxious to get this one out of the ground."

In its third-quarter report, CB Richard Ellis reported office vacancy across the Airport West area at 8.5%.

TIAA-CREF, which has a 60-year track record in commercial real estate, plans to continue building at Waterford, said Denise Maxwell, director of real estate asset management.

"We are looking at developing a number of medical condo units as well as other development," she said. "We’re seeing increased demand from existing tenants due to the economic situation in Latin America."

Ms. Maxwell said TIAA-CREF owns more than 40 million square feet of office and retail space in the Miami area, including the recently acquired 701 and 801 Brickell buildings, and is looking at more acquisitions here.

"Miami is a targeted market," she said, "because of the strength of the local economy and a positive economy in Latin America, as well as an unemployment rate lower than the national average."

Richard Neve, Hogan’s regional vice president and on-site manager at Waterford at Blue Lagoon, said 1000 Waterford is directly behind the Sofitel Hotel.

"We are doing site planning for our 20-acre core site," he said, "which will contain a hotel and three office buildings."

Those three office buildings and 1000 Waterford would add another million square feet of class A space.

Among the park’s amenities Mr. Neve listed proximity to the airport, day care, an on-site post office and free parking.

"We are quoting in the mid-$30s," he said, "and we are already seeing tenants coming out of downtown and Coral Gables. Corporate America wants to maximize their rent dollars to get the most for their money in terms of densities and cutting costs."